“A contracted professional Russian serviceman died in Aleppo province during the mission of accompanying a column of trucks of the Coordination Centre for Reconciliation in Syria Arab Republic,” the message reads.

The serviceman was inside a car which accompanied the column with food products and water for local residents. An improvised explosive device planted by terrorists went off when the column was entering a town. Russian military medics were fighting for the life of heavily wounded Shevchenko, but were unable to save him.

Private Shevchenko is recommended for state decoration posthumously.

In early July a Russian Mi-25 helicopter was downed near Palmyra. Russian military pilots-instructors Ryafagat Khabibulin and Evgeny Dolgin died, stopping the advance of “Islamic State” terrorists by the cost of their own lives.